IceHogs News

Week 15 Recap:
As the IceHogs continued on their season-long seven-game road swing, the Hogs picked up two wins in three games over the weekend in Texas. Rockford began the week with a 4-1 win over the Houston Aeros on Friday night. Then, Brandon Pirri’s overtime marker catapulted the IceHogs over Texas in a 6-5 thriller on Sunday. The IceHogs will finish the road swing with three more tilts away from Rockford in Week 16.

Bacon Bits:
-Rookie winger Rob Flick notched a “Gordie Howe” Hat Trick on Sunday as he registered his first career AHL goal, fight and added an assist in Rockford’s 6-5 overtime win over Texas
-On Sunday, 15 of the 19 skaters for Rockford, including goalie Carter Hutton, registered a point in the 6-5 overtime win over the Stars
-The victory was Rockford’s first overtime win this season
-Hutton now has two assists on the season, one on the power play and one short-handed, marking the first time a Rockford goalie put up two points in a campaign since Corey Crawford (2a) did it in 2009-10
-Defenseman Dylan Olsen played four games in four nights during Week 15, including making his NHL debut with the Blackhawks on Thursday in Philadelphia
-Olsen added his first career multi-point game on Saturday in his return to Rockford, chipping in two assists against Texas
-Olsen and Andrew Shaw made their NHL debuts on Thursday in Philadelphia
-Shaw notched his first career NHL goal and fight in his debut on Thursday against the Flyers
-The IceHogs have had six different skaters play for the Blackhawks this season including Jimmy Hayes, Jeremy Morin, Olsen, Brandon Pirri, Shaw and Ben Smith
-Defenseman Brian Connelly set an IceHogs franchise record on Saturday for points (121) and assists (101) by a defenseman when he assisted on Rockford’s overtime game-winning goal
-Brandon Pirri scored the overtime game winner in Texas on Sunday, his team-leading third game-winning tally this season
-Connelly and Morin each saw their five game point streak come to an end during Week 15
-The five-game hot stretch has been achieved four times in 2011-12 by three different skaters (Connelly, Morin, Pirri) and is an IceHogs season long.
-Texas torched Rockford on the power play during their two-game set in Cedar Park, going 5-8 over the weekend
-Rockford won a game for the first time this season when trailing after the second period (1-16-1-0)
-The IceHogs also won a game for a second time in 2011-12 when allowing five goals when they topped the Stars 6-5 on Sunday
-Rockford has allowed an AHL-high seven empty-net goals this season
-Rockford has had 19 different skaters record a multi-point game this season

Hot Hog: Week 15:
Ben Smith Right Wing

Second-year winger Ben Smith tallied three points in the IceHogs three games during Week 15. Smith started out the week by scoring Rockford’s first goal in their 4-1 win over Houston on Friday night. Then, the Avon, Connecticut native registered his fourth multi-point game of the season (1g-1a) in Sunday’s 6-5 overtime win over Texas, including an assist on Brandon Pirri’s overtime game-winning marker. Smith now has 10 goals and eight assists in 19 games for Rockford. His 10 markers rank him fourth on the club.

Upcoming Games:Wednesday, Jan. 11 at Chicago Wolves: The IceHogs head down I-90 to take on their Midwest Division rival Chicago Wolves in a rare day game and another Illinois Lottery Cup matchup. The puck drops at 11 a.m. The IceHogs and Wolves face off for the fifth of 12 meetings on the season. The Hogs are 0-2-0-0 at the Allstate Arena this season and 6-13-2-1 all-time in Chicago.

Friday, Jan. 13 at Oklahoma City. Game time is set for 7 p.m. Rockford travels to the Cox Convention Center to take on the Barons for the third meeting of the season and first in Oklahoma City. The IceHogs dropped both matchups against the Barons in Rockford this season and are looking for revenge against the top team in the Western Conference. The Hogs are 1-6-1-0 all-time against Oklahoma City.

Saturday, Jan. 14 at San Antonio. Face off is slated for 7 p.m. The IceHogs conclude their season-long seven-game road trip with a stop in San Antonio to face off against the Rampage. Rockford beat San Antonio 6-3 in their only other meeting of the season on Nov. 23 at the BMO Harris Bank Center. The two clubs will battle a total of four times in 2011-12.

No Bud Light Hog Talk Tonight At Granite City:
There will be no Bud Light Hog Talk tonight at Granite City Food and Brewery as the team is traveling back from Texas. Granite City is located at 7140 Harrison Ave. next to CherryVale Mall. Fans can join Mike Peck from 6-7 p.m. most Mondays as he chats with IceHogs skaters and coaches. Stop by to take advantage of food and Bud Light specials. If you can't make it to Granite City, tune into 1330-AM WNTA or 100.5-FM NTA.

The IceHogs Broadcasting Network:
Rockford IceHogs fans can catch all of the IceHogs regular-and post-season games on the Hogs’ flagship radio station, Rockford’s Voice, WNTA-AM 1330 and 100.5 NTA FM, and 30 regular season games on ESPN Radio 1380-AM, WTJK. Fans can also watch and listen to the Hogs on the World Wide Web with AHL Live! Visit the IceHogs website (icehogs.com) and click on the “click here to watch the AHL Live” icon, and for just $7 you can catch all of the IceHogs action on your computer. Also, fans with Comcast Cable television in Rockford can tune in to Channel 57 for all the IceHogs hockey action at the BMO Harris Bank Center this season. All Saturday home games will also be televised on My Network TV digital subchannel 17.2 along with Comcast and Charter Cable channel 16. The broadcast begins with the U.S. Cellular Pregame Show 30 minutes before the puck drops. Make sure to give your opinion during the Comcast Post-Game Call-In Show following each game at (815) 874-8255.

Tickets Now On Sale!
IceHogs individual game tickets are now on sale! Call (815) 968-5222 to reserve your seats for any IceHogs regular season game during the 2011-12 season. Tickets can also be purchased in person at the BMO Harris Bank Center Box Office in downtown Rockford or on the Web at www.theBMOHarrisBankCenter.com. Tickets start at just $7.